Novelty
by egochan
Summary: It's the carnival season. Ryuuji keeps losing and Seto is lost on why he's even there. [Seto x Ryuuji]
1. Novelty

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, I would lock Otogi-kun in a nice comfy closet and give away everyone else. I only want the best. *smirks and pats Otogi's hair*

_"This twist in the plot will baffle my readers!"_—Snoopy the dog; Peanuts (Ego is pretty clueless on how to allude to a comic strip)

Yeah…. Here's another fic by Ego-chan for the sake of fic writing.

**Note:** Here's the pairing: *self-made drum roll* Seto/Ryuuji!

**Thanks:** MarmaladeGirl for beta reading this. *thumbs up to Marm* She was probably shocked I was still even alive. *grin* Also thank R Amythest for beta reading. *waves to RA*

~!~!~ Novelty 

   " '_In Domino, must attend events include several fall festivals in which tents are set up and stocked with a variety of goods. A few peddlers plant themselves at the different sites for entire weeks to sell their myriad of novelty merchandise to tourists and city dwellers alike. There are many different festivals concerning things from out of town farming to the local fishing industry. The fall is the yearly heyday for these celebrations as the winter snow has only recently threatened to fall and the trees are adopting and dropping their new fashions. Domino, though a very state-of-the-art industrialized city (home to the prominent Kaiba Corp and several other businesses) still has to afford its culturists an opportunity to shown their knowledge and pride in the area their families had settled centuries before.'_

_   'This opportunity has been bestowed within several regional festivals held in the city park as the year crawls along. Foreigners love the experience of Japanese culture most through the universally favorite medium of an excellent party. What enthusiastic Westerner intent on learning the use of chopsticks couldn't enjoy the hospitable atmosphere of those eager to teach their simple, everyday habits in handling food? The people come to the East for the oriental experience and Domino isn't about to disappoint them just because it happens to have a lengthy business district.'_

_I. Fall Festival_

_   'Currently there is a carnival/art sale running through the fall schedule. Large, uniquely colored booths and tents cover the newly constructed plaza in the park. The location is perfect in accenting the nature-centered works of local artisans. Several trails bleed off the grounds into scenic walks through the well-cultivated gardens. Not far off is one of the area's largest, most celebrated shrines, which is the focus of many pieces of artwork on display. Domino boasts with this set up that not one visitor can leave without supporting the district by purchasing a variety of memorabilia. From large, hand-painted silkscreen to easier to pocket, creatively carved chopsticks, nothing really outsells the other. People desire such things from the booths to bring home with them and lock in cabinets or estranged to parlor rooms accessible only to distinguished guests. The local economy thanks them.'_

_II. Popular Entertainment_

_   'While the arts and activities focused on the region excite the tourists; this is not the same for the younger local residents. On the weekends of the festival, many students are to be found roaming the portions of the fair that resembled an amusement park more than anything. To many of them the art and crafts aren't extraordinarily appealing. They're more likely to meet fellow classmates wandering about the carrousel than the paper fan vendor. This is why, for any occasion, several different automatic rides are set up further from the green of the manicured park. The extra multitude of tents set up here in long would-be even rows contained a mixture of novelty merchants and chance games. These appeal more to the younger people who don't want to collect knickknacks or barter for extraordinary deals. They prefer to be reckless and spend their pocket money on the entertainment provided by the repeated use of common rides and earning prizes through betting games. Instead of working hard to whittle the price of a certain plush toy down to a few hundred yen, they choose to try and beat the odds in ball throwing or pellet shooting, sometimes having to run home broke for more money._' "

   "Is that it?" Seto asked slowly, blinking to see if he was still awake. Mokuba either failed to notice or didn't care.

   "So, what do you think of it so far, Niisan?"

   "Are you finished yet? You know I don't like coming to these things, Mokuba. Hurry up and type your paper so we can leave."

   Mokuba frowned slightly at his older brother's impatience. He stubbornly deleted the last paragraph as the brunette looked over to see to what length the work had progressed. Seto's brow furrowed slightly at the realization Mokuba hadn't even passed one page.

   "Keep typing," he ordered, leaning back. Mokuba clandestinely undid his delete and tried to think of what else there was to say about the festival.

   "How long does this have to be again?" Seto asked, leaning grudgingly against the trunk of a tree. He didn't enjoy his current location. Mokuba had to write a paper on the local festivities.

   "Four, five pages?"

   "Nani?" Seto yelped, "Oh for the love of—"

   "Niisan…." There was a threatening undertone in Mokuba's voice, "You know you didn't _have_ to bring me."

   Seto sighed slightly and fell back into the supporting bark. His little brother was right. Seto could have easily ordered someone else to take care of Mokuba and not worry about it. He could be up in his office, working on game programs and the turning of varying budget deficits into gains. In fact, he could sunder himself completely from everyone and take care of Kaiba Corp while Kaiba Corp took care of his family. All his being could focus on business and computers till he became somewhat of a robotic-minded individual himself: no compassion, no concern, just a programmed indifference that openly didn't give a damn past its own priority and achievements.

    Seto shuddered at the thought, and allowed himself a few torturing moments to let this diabolical image of himself and the possibilities grow. He knew what he was capable of and that he couldn't get too detached from everything. Even if it meant shoving his business problems in a crypt for three hours to accompany Mokuba on a trip to some kind of local wildlife festival, Seto was willing. Mokuba was of chief importance and Seto had been (in his mind) neglecting the boy for two weeks while the head technology department had a few issues with the copyrights on the use of electronics with the Magic and Wizards card game. Crawford had failed to clear that up before his accident and they had to go through the Motou's.

    "Are you feeling all right, Niisan?"

    "Huh?" Seto slurred intelligently, rudely awaken from his disturbing self-discipline. Mokuba shook his head and tapped his pencil against the computer.

    "Niisan, I'm going to go work on this by myself, all right? We'll meet at the car in thirty."

    "But, Mokuba…." Seto had no intention of being separated from his brother.

    "Don't worry, Niisan. I'm going to hang around with Yuugi and everyone."

    "Nani?" Seto asked as Mokuba took off. Without removing himself from the tree, Seto grabbed the back of his brother's coat and kept him from making his getaway. "You're not running off, Mokuba. It's dangerous."

    "Demo…" Mokuba sighed, "You trust Yuugi and them, don't you?"

    "No," Seto answered, not having to consider the question and not willing to let his brother run off into the crowds on his own. Seto knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened, and the only way to make sure was to keep Mokuba in his sight. He was aware of the uncomfortably small leash that was being attached to the boy's freedom, but that only proved how much Seto cared not to lose him.

    "Seto," Mokuba sighed, irked by his brother's unrelenting restraints, "Yuugi-tachi is not going to let me get hurt."

    "You don't know unless it happens." Seto warned him, "How do you know they're dependable?" 

    Mokuba frowned and shook his head. He crossed his arms and faced his brother with as steady a glare he could summon behind his miniature stature.

    "Niisan, I am not a naïve little kid. I know all the rules: Don't talk to strangers, don't accept anything anonymous, and keep to where it's safe." 

    Seto sighed as he recognized a blur of tri-colored hair in the distance. He could see the future of this conversation if he refused Mokuba at least some liberty. His younger brother would be unhappy and trapped, which would only get worse as he got older. Seto was willing to lessen his control as not to mimic their stepfather. Kaiba Gozabaru hadn't been the best roll modeling father figure, and Seto had no intent of turning into the man when it came to dealing with who might as well be the next Kaiba Corp heir.

    "Are you sure?" he asked, yielding. He'd have Mokuba pay him back later.

    "Yes," Mokuba nodded eagerly. "Please?"

    "All right." Seto agreed, assuring himself it was only thirty minutes, "Be back at the limo in thirty. I expect your report to have a considerable growth spurt when I see it again."

    "Arigato!" Mokuba cheered, spotting Yuugi-tachi, and bounding towards them. Seto watched silently and looked at his watch. He had thirty minutes by himself without the laptop and didn't have a vague notion of what to do with his time. 

~!~!~

"…_On the weekends of the festival, many students are to be found roaming the portions of the fair that resembled an amusement park more than anything…._"

   Yuugi-tachi seemed not to be above this petty form of amusement as they stood around one of the booths, cheering uncertainly for two good friends to win. They awed for whoever was doing well and encourage the person who wasn't. They didn't wish any of the two to lose, just wanted to watch the exciting competition. Ryuuji against Jounouchi was a very interesting match.

   …And once again Ryuuji lost to Jounouchi in ring toss. It was getting overly frustrating for him, this series of defeats. Why wouldn't the stupid little ring land where he wanted it too? He glared at it steadily, as though his wrath would summon some kind of terrific wind of will to lift the metal and drop it onto the greatest point anchor possible.

   "Gosh, you must have _no_ concentration, Otogi-kun. Your aim is so off."

   Ryuuji shifted his glare at Jounouchi for a few seconds, already past the casual level of annoyed that came upon the friendly losers whenever Jounouchi was riding a winning streak.

   "Just watch, I'm going to make this one."

   Jounouchi smirked at the announcement and nearly collapsed when Ryuuji missed.

   "Okay, I'll do you a favor, Otogi-kun. I won't count how many times you've failed to land a point."

   "Yeah, he can't count that high," Honda added, targeting both Ryuuji and Jounouchi.

   Ryuuji tossed the ring in Honda's general direction and watched it disappear into the grass. He could have recited Jounouchi's next line exactly.

   "Wow, can you hit nothing with those rings?"

   Ryuuji knew the two were only joking to mess with him, but that didn't keep him from growing angry and losing concentration. As a last resort he could always pull out some dice. He _never_ missed with those.

    "Here, let me show you how this is done, or should I say, _won._" Jounouchi smirked. He paid for three rings and started tossing them. His second and third both landed prizes. Jounouchi Katsuya was soon the proud owner of a plush kuriboh sporting eyes the size of plates, and a plastic Frisbee with the carnival's slightly deranged-looking shrimp mascot stamped over the top.

    "Here you go, Otogi-kun, you can have cute little Kuriboh. It matches your personality."

    Ryuuji gaped wordlessly as the life-sized stuffed animal was shoved into his unsuspecting arms. By then Yuugi and Anzu where crumpled in laughter. Ryuuji slowly grinned as well and readjusted his flimsy grip, making the gift a bit more secure.

    "Awe, for me? I appreciate it, Jounouchi-kun." He thanked dryly, "I didn't know you cared."

    Jounouchi thought about this a few seconds before taking a step back, "Yeah, don't mention it… really. Don't."

    Ryuuji smiled back, hitching the kuriboh under his arm. "So, where are we headed next?" he asked the group. Everyone shrugged uncertainly till Anzu pointed at the Ferris wheel. "Let's ride that."

    "All right, but I sit between Kuriboh and Katsuya," Ryuuji chuckled, "Since they're both so cute."

    Jounouchi grabbed Honda by the back of the shirt and pushed him forward, "Not me, gomen, but Honda-kun's free."

    Ryuuji threw on a sly grin and looked over the brunette, "Ahh, Hiroto—will do."

    "Otogi-kun," Ryou sighed, "Stop being so creepy."

    "All right," Ryuuji agreed, straightening up, "I'll stay down here with Kuriboh while all of you pair up for the Ferris wheel. Let me guess, since Jounouchi-kun and Honda-kun are going to insist on being together for, ehem, reasons; Yuugi and Anzu are going to have to be together leaving poor Ryou by himself."

    This remarked earned Ryuuji a smack in the head from Honda and Jounouchi. The combined effort left his ears ringing but his grin failed to dissipate.

    "Hey Yuugi!"

    The entire group, overlooking the fact they hadn't been addressed, turned to greet Kaiba Mokuba.

    "Hi, Mokuba." Yuugi greeted, looking at the laptop, "Is your brother here?"

    "Yeah, but he's not with me." Mokuba informed them, "But I saw you guys and figured I'd stick with you for a while. Niisan said I could."

    Ryuuji laughed, "Yeah, none can resist the impulse to hang out with us. We are _so_ cool." This resulted in another slap upside the head from Anzu. Ryuuji frowned temporarily, "What was that for?"

    Anzu shrugged with a sadistic smirk and turned to Mokuba, "Ignore the effeminate male with the stuffed animal. He doesn't get enough sleep."

    "Oh, and how exactly would you know that?" Ryuuji snapped indignantly before laughing. This only proved Anzu's theory. She mouthed the words "too much cotton candy" to Mokuba before letting Yuugi take over the conversation.

    "Well, Mokuba, we're going to go to the Ferris wheel."

    "Yeah, you can go with me," Ryou offered. "Since Ryuuji wants to sit it out. I think he's scared of heights—Itai!" Ryuuji hit Ryou over the head with the kuriboh, of which he had just discovered the effectiveness as a weapon. Ryou smiled sheepishly and massaged the hit.

    "Okay," Mokuba agreed and went with the group towards the Ferris wheel. Ryuuji headed towards a bench as everyone left for tickets. He stared morosely at the kuriboh, angry with Ryou for guessing right. Even though the pale boy had been joking, he had gotten the reason exactly.

    Otogi Ryuuji wasn't fond of heights. Yes, it was embarrassing. He didn't talk about it and preferred not to act on the unrealistic causes for the odd paranoia. Like while Ryuuji watched Yuugi-tachi board the pastel colored carriages with optimistic grins: They wouldn't be so happy if the Ferris wheel broke down with them on top. You never knew when a giant gorilla was going to attack. Any malicious bird or squirrel had a chance to jump from its tree and attack as the carriage just passed a few low lying trees. 

    "Where are your friends and Mokuba?"

    Ryuuji leaped slightly at this and spun around the best he could without standing. Behind him was Kaiba Seto. Once Ryuuji realized this he began to calm down. Oddly enough, he hadn't expected someone to zap out of nowhere like that while he was watching his friends go aboard the ill-boding Ferris wheel.

   "Why?" he questioned in defense, wondering suspiciously if the Kaiba had something more devious planned in the simple inquiry. Maybe friends and Mokuba were code for something… else.

    "Is it a crime that a sibling wishes the know the state and location of his younger brother?" Seto asked smartly.

   Ryuuji nearly fell off the bench as realization hit with the ever cliché solidity of a cast-iron frying pan. Why was he being such a baka? Seto wanted to know where Mokuba was. It was exactly as he'd said it. Ryuuji mentally frowned at Yuugi-tachi on the Ferris wheel causing him so much disorganizing stress.

    "Well, Mokuba's on the Ferris wheel then."

    "That's what I wanted to hear," Seto praised sardonically, "Good job. That wasn't too hard now was it?"

    Ryuuji blinked in confusion, wondering why Seto was mocking him for apparently no reason. He had never spoken to Kaiba Seto before and didn't understand the teen's feud against anything with voice. He took the offense as it was presented and glared at Seto with frustrated stupefaction. Hadn't he corrected himself and answered the question? What was the smart remark for?

    "What's your problem?" he asked, truly curious. Seto, still displaying a prolific smirk, shrugged and gestured vaguely around him. Ryuuji couldn't believe it once he translated this motion; Seto held a gripe against the world. Who in his or her right mind had something against everyone?

    "But mostly my irritation is in you. By the way, nice hair." Seto complemented with all the seriousness of one praising the circus clown's pinstripes and polka dots.

    Ryuuji pull consciously at a stray lock, staggered. What was so terribly wrong with Seto he couldn't just lay off the insults? The first go had been a bit understandable, but the hair comment. Ryuuji was fond of his hair. He didn't like people making cracks about it to be hurtful. He knew the style was a bit extreme, but next to Yuugi he could have been bald and not made a louder statement.

    "Excuse me?" he tried to ask politely, but growled anyway. He was trying to remain calm and look at the scene realistically. Maybe Seto, with an inspiration spawned from his infinite boredom, was trying to sway the other end of the conversation into attack. That would make sense—if Kaiba were ten years old. What was wrong with him?

    Against all odds, Ryuuji found himself feeling sorry for Kaiba, even if still a bit infuriated. He refused to believe Seto was actually angry with him personally. No, the billionaire's issue was everything.

    "Your brother will be back in a few minutes. You'll have to get over it, he only just boarded the ride."

    Ryuuji blinked slightly as Seto gave an exasperated sigh and sat down. Instinctively, the dark haired teen edged away, wary of the temperamental company.

    "Kami-sama, he's going to be on forever," Seto growled to himself, no more alluding to the existence of the teen next to him. Following this statement was a waiting silence. Ryuuji had nothing to say, knowing perfectly well that if he did the words would only be turned against him. Instead he held the kuriboh stoutly and watched the Ferris wheel make its second go round. Just one more and he'd be released from the stressing, quiet state of affairs.

    All things considered, Ryuuji was obviously ready to scream when the Ferris wheel finally stopped. Who knew the last circle was the slowest? He tapped his foot impatiently as Yuugi-tachi came back to earth, filing off one by one without a care in the world for Otogi-kun's predicament. He wondered why they were not running. Was the time not urgent?

    Finally, the group meandered back over (and taking their own sweet time about it) to the bench where Ryuuji was strangling the kuriboh with his grip.

    "What took you guys so long?" he asked, shooting up and to Honda's side. "How can a Ferris wheel take that long?"

    Honda blinked at him slowly, surprised at Ryuuji's evident annoyance. "Otogi-kun, I wasn't controlling the ride. It's not my fault it took ten minutes. I rather enjoyed the view. You really should have come."

    Ryuuji hit him lightly with plush animal.

    "Well, while you were taking in the fabulous landscape, I was suffering in the company of Kaiba-san."

    Jounouchi heard this and smirked, "Oh, we're so sorry Otogi-kun. Sounds like you went through hell. I guess you should have ridden the Ferris wheel with us without enduring such needless suffering."

    Ryuuji attacked with the kuriboh, jabbering insults at the blonde. The rest of the grouped turned around to see the battle behind them. Yuugi and Ryou tried to hold the insane dice enthusiast back before someone was injured.

    "Otogi-kun, don't lose your head over them," Ryou pleaded, trying to find something to say while failing to form any reliable grasp onto the angrily squirming teen, "Jounouchi-kun's an idiot."    

    "Oh thanks, Bakura-kun." Jounouchi said in mock offense, "You don't have to say anything else, I see how it is."

    Ryou, not noticing the sarcasm and desperate to stay on Jounouchi's good graces while pacifying Ryuuji, temporarily released his grip to apologize. In a second he was fully aware of a kuriboh coming towards his face. He yelped, forgetting his purpose as a barrier between Ryuuji's anger and Jounouchi-kun, and ducked.

    Ryuuji, free after relieving Yuugi's grip on his shirt, leaped at Honda-kun. He was shocked when his attack was cut in mid air. He turned around expecting to see to it that Ryou relinquished his new irking grip. Instead he saw something completely unexpected: Mokuba.

    "Nani?" he stammered, lost for words.

    "Don't you dare touch my brother with that hideous kuriboh," Kaiba snapped. Ryuuji was too distracted to remember being convincingly angry. Mokuba released his vest and sneered.

    "Your immature fighting is starting to give me a headache. You also hit Bakura-kun."

    Ryuuji, confused on how he had suddenly become the unwilling antagonist, looked down at the ground where Ryou was rubbing his head, dazed. In attacking he had been acting no different than Jounouchi or Honda. It was Ryou's own fault he was knocked down. Ryuuji was sure if he had made it to Jounouchi and Honda the two would have fought right back and defeated him in little time. Still, everyone was watching him expectantly. He sighed and turned to Ryou.

    "Sorry, Bakura-kun." He apologized, failing to see _why_ he had to. "But I agree, Jounouchi-kun is an idiot."

    "Hey, do you want to start something?" the blonde asked, annoyed.

~!~!~

    It was getting dark on the grounds. Several venders where closed and redeemed by the arrival of food carts in a sizzling overture to the night ahead. Jounouchi had long split from the group to go walk with Mai and Shizuka. Honda had joined him, intent on keeping the younger Jounouchi company. Ryuuji had let them go without a second thought, not caring if Shizuka and Honda where running off to elope. That wasn't a concern of his as he had grown well out of any infatuation with the girl. Jounouchi Katsuya seemed to like the thought of the brunette with his sister over him anyway.

    The group for a while had been Ryuuji, Yuugi, Anzu and Ryou, but that had grown considerably awkward until Ryuuji suggest they split up and let the couple go off on their own. Ryou was relieved at this, Yuugi and Anzu making him uncomfortable. Ryuuji spent the darkening hours in the shopping hub, admiring several different displays with the pale boy.  Ryuuji had lost his one companion in a confrontation with Mokuba. He was slowly beginning to detest the minor Kaiba, but had laughed when the boy told them he was eluding his niisan. That made all the sense in the world to his companions.

    Mokuba and Ryou got along much better than Ryuuji would have ever wanted them to. Gentle, never-hurt-a-fly, Ryou had even been the mastermind behind (as well as the one to carry out) several pranks aimed at the tallest group member. Ryuuji quickly became fed up with this startlingly corrupted side of his friend (obviously egged on by Mokuba) and when the two had decided to attempt the Ferris wheel for the tenth time to vex him, Ryuuji made a break for it while they were ten stories too high to do anything about it. He had spent the remainder of the evening walking and watching the lights slowly come to life. Neon lights and street lamps lit up the festival grounds, some even traveling far into the wooded park. Ryuuji could only guess one subtle romantic reason for why the trees and paths needed to be so illuminated. In the name of this excuse, he had incredulously eyed the couples walking in and about the sparse outer woods. None went very deep into the park, choosing to stay near humanity and the food vendors.

    Late nine thirty found Ryuuji chewing thoughtfully at small grilled pieces of skewered duck and potato, trying to eat heartily and not burn his mouth. It was difficult, but he was accomplishing the painful task fairly well. There was very little spitting out of flaming portions and the majority of the food was actually making its way to his stomach.

    "Owe!" he yelped, pulling back from the potato he was nibbling at. The cook smirked at him good-naturedly.

    "Slow down, kid. My signs says fresh off the grill and I stick to it."

    Ryuuji smiled slightly and nodded at the man's words. He attempted the potato again to no avail and figured he'd have to defy his love of prompt and wait for the food to cool. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few hundred yen for another stick to join his payment, this time with fish and shrimp. He thanked the vendor after the food was delivered and made his leave. Ryuuji assumed his meal would cool much quicker away from the heat of the grill and started off. He turned around quickly and grabbed the kuriboh which he had nearly left behind five times, and nodded quickly to the cook before making his way down the darkening aisles—the daylight home to a mass of pointless novelties and trinkets.

    Ryuuji made his way to the better-lit grounds where nighttime merchants where still selling and others remaining for last minute sales. There was a lot more people there, some paying for food and others shooting pelt guns for prizes. A few performers were set up in their own lots, staging amazing feats or telling stories. There were even a few modern comedians entertaining the masses. Ryuuji stopped and listened to one go on about how what had once been a shrimp boat festival, was now up and appeared as anything but. The rant, though mildly amusing, failed to rouse his interest. Ryuuji soon found himself walking through the park away from all the people and happily chewing on the yellow duck fat. (^_^ Yum!)

    Walking down the lighted paths alone was a bit conspicuous and awkward. Ryuuji looked down at the kuriboh he had been faithfully holding onto for the past five hours and decide he wasn't quite alone yet. The plush duel monster hadn't made an effort to pester him all day and had served him as a stanch weapon. He felt protective of it, and in an odd way connected. He assumed that was why people kept stuffed animals, the belief that it was a friend, something they could make ideal in their imagination. Ryuuji had enough of his own imagination to do this quite well. He continued to walk further happy with the make-believe company. Though the lighting remained constant, he did meet a lack of people. Soon he was too far-gone from the festival grounds to see anything but the top of the infamous Ferris wheel. It was quiet so far away, though not the least bit frightening. He sat down in one of the many benches lining the path and watched the carriages on the Ferris wheel go round.

    Ryuuji sighed and involuntary held the warmed kuriboh to his chest. There was a joke repeating in his mind, but all he understood was the punch line. What had led up to this somehow amusing phrase was a vague memory of some lively conversation in which the lot had made sense. He wasn't paying attention to anything around him. Distantly he recalled that the human mind for three hours of thinking used the energy generated from the eating of one peanut. That was a lot or a little depending on how much a person liked to think and the availability of peanuts. He grinned at the random thought and finished off his last potato to move on to the shrimp and fish, which had become sufficiently cooler.

    "You're still carrying that fur ball around?"

    "Eee!" Ryuuji yelped, startled at the fact he had company. The kuriboh rolled cowardly off his lap and his shrimp fell onto the wooden bench silently, forsaken in Ryuuji's surprise. Ryuuji look at Kaiba who had somehow found him.

     "Don't do that!" he ordered angrily, grabbing the shrimp and kuriboh up with a regretful frown so he wouldn't have to look into Kaiba's calculating eyes.

     "Why are questions such a crime to you?" Kaiba smirked, amused by Ryuuji's upset. The raven-haired teen looked like a clown. Ryuuji didn't find it as amusing.

     "Well, when the person inquiring tends to enjoy sneaking up on me while I'm sitting, I guess I wouldn't be exactly chipper," he informed Seto, nonchalantly picking bits of grass from the kuriboh's fur. Ryuuji muffled his sigh into a yawn as Kaiba leaned against a tree behind him. He tried to keep his voice neutral as he turned the other way, leaning back on the bench properly.

    "So, is there a reason you're still here other than to grace me with your company?" He asked with a slouch, still hugging the kuriboh close. Seto's presence was a bit foreboding, especially in the dark. He was prepared to attack with the kuriboh should the need arise. "I thought you would have taken Mokuba home by now."

    "Mokuba is home and teaching your friend Bakura-kun every damn thing he knows about computers—and everything else." Kaiba growled, "It's loud and I don't like him."

    Ryuuji smirked at this. "Awe, why don't you like Bakura? I'm sure he hasn't done anything to you. Bakura-kun's actually really quiet."

    "That is exactly why." Seto growled, "I can't stand him."

    Ryuuji nodded, only kept from laughing by the thought Seto was a threat, and he was therefore dangerous. It didn't sound like he was happy either.

    "So why pester me? I'm just sitting here. You'll find your blessed silence farther down the path." Ryuuji said, picking a thoroughly inspected shrimp from the skewer and popping it into his mouth (it was still food, even after vacationing on the bench).

    "I was alone until you sat down."

    Ryuuji jumped again at how much closer Seto's voice had become. He resisted the instinct to lean forward and stop reclining. He wanted to look like he wasn't nervous but he also wanted to be safe in case the odd paranoia was justified. In a matter of seconds he settled with quietly chewing on his shrimp, but held the kuriboh tightly just in case.

    "Gomen." Ryuuji apologized politely, though he was not completely sorry. He was startled by two hands on the rail behind his head and would have leaped if they also didn't have his shoulders.

    "You're jumpy." Seto noted behind him, the cold voice very close now.

    "You're suggesting I shouldn't be?" Ryuuji snapped, greatly annoyed at Seto's approach. He shrugged the grip off stubbornly. Seto was probably trying to start an argument or something.

    "Yes."

    Ryuuji didn't like Seto's tone. He reached for the kuriboh to attack but Seto didn't do anything else remotely threatening. He walked over to the end of the bench opposite Ryuuji and sat down. Ryuuji glared at him for a few moments, suspicious. Seto, though, seemed to have completely forgotten he existed, watching a near lamp instead. Ryuuji was unsurprisingly curious at this, wanting to know what the brunette was thinking for the simple reason he didn't know.

    "Okay, you're right. I shouldn't be so jumpy. You obviously have lots to mull over," he started, slicing the silence open in hopes of happily dissecting it to find bits of quaint conversation hidden in the absence of creativity.

    …Whatever that was supposed to mean.

    "Here, Kuriboh will help you think," he offered instead, tossing the plush animal at Kaiba's head. It fell short and thumped lifelessly into the CEO's shoulder before landing lightly back on the bench. Seto turned to look at it and Ryuuji, confused and annoyed.

    "Don't do that."

    Ryuuji nodded and took the kuriboh back. He didn't enjoy being ignored. As soon as Seto turned he tossed it again, this time not missing.

    "What did I just tell you _not_ to do, baka?" Seto snapped, turning around and grabbing Ryuuji by his shirt. Ryuuji grinned nervously, finding his self-made predicament both horrifying and hilarious.

    "Throw Kuriboh-chan at you," Ryuuji replied, not at all terrified and therefore unable to stammer. There was a priority to not so much as breathe in fear for his life, but there was also an unmistakable _joie de vivre_ Ryuuji felt when he dared himself to do the unthinkable (and often dangerous) for no sophisticated cause.

    "Don't." Seto ordered, sitting back and grabbing the stuffed duel monster.

    "Oi, that's mine!" Ryuuji objected as the kuriboh was taken away.

    "Not anymore." Seto shrugged, certain that by taking the coveted toy he had solved his problem. It worked with Mokuba.

    "Give it back."

    "So you can toss it at me?"

    Ryuuji frowned at this. He certainly didn't enjoy the kuriboh being kidnapped by Seto and would make him pay for his audacity.

    "Let go," he ordered immaturely and clasped the kuriboh's foot. Seto, unfortunately, had the advantage of a better grip.

    "You're going to tear that foot off, baka, and I'm going to laugh at you." Seto warned. Ryuuji understood this and released the furry appendage regretfully.

    "Fine, but just so you know, Kuriboh came from Jounouchi-kun."

   Seto shrugged, "That doesn't really bother me."

   Ryuuji glared back up at the CEO, making furious eye contact in an attempt to stare him out of the stuffed duel monster. To say the least, it wasn't working. Seto look thoroughly pleased—in an odd, detached way—with his victory.

    "Errr…." This was about all Ryuuji said over the next ten minutes. Seto was waiting for Ryuuji to attack, Ryuuji was waiting for Seto to relax, and neither where backing down. It was a stall that would take hours to unbalance. Not one was planning on stay the night, but both were part willing if it came to that extreme. Seto expected Ryuuji to eventually give up and beg, and Ryuuji was mentally toying with the idea of workaholic, sleep deprived Seto merely passing out from being inactive for too long. It was an unrealistic idea, but ten minutes had just become a very lengthy bit time in which it was growing difficult to keep back such random, pointless strategies.

    "Kaiba-kun…." Ryuuji growled finally into the tense silence, "Hand me the kuriboh before I'm forced to retaliate."

    Seto looked at Ryuuji unconvinced. "No, thank you."

    Ryuuji scowled, contemplating what to do. The stubborn idiot in front of him was too busy gloating to notice the unmistakable look of concentration on Ryuuji's face. He didn't sense the sudden realization that dawned on the kuriboh-deprived teen.

    Seto smirked wider as Ryuuji pounced exactly like he had predicted ten minutes before.

    Only it wasn't entirely the same, he discovered, as Ryuuji's lips found their way to his.

    This being one of his self-dared, dangerous, and unlikely moments without an apparently sane cause, Ryuuji was doing just fine. Seto, as Ryuuji had planned, was furious and made to push him off. This wasn't before the attacker had reclaimed the kuriboh.

    "What the hell?" Seto yelled at Ryuuji who was laughing at him from the ground. Seto made to attack as well. Ryuuji, defiantly not wanting to experience unnecessary pain, snatched the kuriboh and ran as fast as he could away. The dark intervals between the lamps no longer cast a comforting dimness. Now they were threatening, like something dangerous could be hiding in the infinite black at the middle farthest from the light. He ignored this new perspective though, and ran as fast as he could back to the food carts and mechanical rides. It was only in the middle of the festival plaza that he stopped, short of breath and surrounded by a multitude of people. Seto wouldn't take his revenge on someone in front of a crowd.

    "Oi, Otogi-kun, where have you been?"

    Ryuuji looked around at Honda, the Jounouchi's, and Mai, for once relieved to see them all together.

    "Oh, you know," he said as offhandedly as possible while gasping for breath, "Here and there."

    "You mean you've been walking around alone?" Shizuka asked, alarmed.

    "Hai, I didn't face anything too awkward," he lied.

    Jounouchi smirked and pointed at the kuriboh, "Oh Kami-sama, you _still_ have that thing? Man, can you say obsessed?"

    Ryuuji clutched the kuriboh nervously and ran a hand through his hair with a sheepishly apologetic grin.

    "Yeah… obsessed…."

~!~!~

Ha, bet you never saw that happen to Otogi! *sarcasm* 

*grins* I know, that was just shameless fun in the last bit. I was completely lost writing this fic. I guess it doesn't really have a point. It's just shameless entertainment for my description-loving ego. *grins wider* But that's not too bad.

~Ling no Yong~


	2. Three Days Later

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, it would not be about little Yuugi, but really more favorable characters. For example: Otogi Ryuuji, Kaiba Seto, Bakura Ryou, Otogi Ryuuji, Yami no Malik, Yami no Yuugi, Otogi Ryuuji, Kuriboh-chan, and, of course, Otogi Ryuuji. 

Any questions?

**Note:** Shoot, I made a second chapter! What's wrong with me? *points to The Evil Laugh* She made me do it, honest! She's the one who poisoned my mind with a picture of Seto kissing Ryuuji (not vice versa and not necessarily a bad poison).

**Thanks:** Thanks to lovely beta reader Windswift. Thanks to readers too. Also, thanks to reader reviewers. I love you all!

Cheesey: Thank you for the faves and the compliments! I'm happy you liked last chapter!

Renee the Rabid Squirrel: Thanks. Don't worry; this chapter (on TEL's insistence, actually) has _two_ kisses for you to read! *cheers even though it really isn't that great* More to come too. If only I can get around to writing it all.

MarmaladeGirl: Lookie, a follow up! I might actually have a plot too…. *frightening thought there* Wow, you betaed _and_ reviewed! *hugs you* Saaaaankyuuuu!

TeeDee: So glad you love it. Thank you! Here's another unexpected chapter!

The Evil Laugh: It must be hard for you, knowing how boring I am in real life…. *smirkie* Ha, used your word! *composes self* Yes, your fanart is wonderful and inspiring! Draw more kuriboh! Draw more kisses!

Windswift: Mokuba was writing a report. Since he's like twelve, though, I didn't get into the proper formatting. He's actually a pretty good writer, eh? *grin* I know, I've made Ryuuji a down right 'ole genius, haven't I? *cheers for you* Yes, you must draw Kuriboh-chan and Ryuuji! Must!

evilcourtney: Look, more Seto*Otogi for you! *really optimistic about all this*

R Amythest: Kuriboh-Deprived…. I agree. *grin* Yay, you beta and review too! *hugs you and Marm* Thank you.

Sachi-chan: Thank you so much! Gomen, no Mokuba corrupted Ryou this chapter, but I will take that into consideration… (shoot, you already know I've got it _all_ planned). 

Huh? Oh: Well, give my salutations to the holy mother of cheese itz—I updated.

~!~!~

Chapter 2: Three Days Later {A}

    It was the morning, and Ryuuji was making sure his hair was behaving nicely. It was quite a complicated array when one got down to it. Not only did the risqué bandana have to lay smooth, there had to be just enough excess hair in his ponytail to give the proper affect of no hairpieces able to hold it all up. Ryuuji took a special pride in the arrangement. It had taken him almost an entire two afternoons of experimentation to get it just right and he wasn't up for a change.

    Ryuuji grinned at his reflection and waved. Everything seemed to be in order. Festival vacation was over and his homework was as finished as it would ever be. It had been a nice four-day weekend while it lasted and he had to go back to school eventually. He was going to give his teachers a field day with calculus and literature. Four days without it and his last minute homework proved he'd forgotten everything (it was a miracle he survived mere weekends). If they wanted an explanation, Ryuuji wasn't sure he could give them one. He had been, in a ways, mentally distracted for the past few days. The least of what he wanted to do was enter last hour calculus.

    Ryuuji grabbed his clown necklace, the one thing he never left his apartment without, and twirled his hair nervously. He had his book bag, ready to walk the few short blocks to Domino High, but something slowed him and stopped his feet every brisk five steps.

    First to admit he'd done many obviously stupid things in his life, Ryuuji was suffering the new, worst installment. He wasn't one to be scared of anything (far from it), but what he'd done at the fair made him somewhat tense… if that was the word. He had heard nasty rumors about what happened to people Kaiba Seto was angry at, and how he ruined their lives beyond even optimistic hopes of emigration. Ryuuji had been going over the worst of these to himself over the past few days as he recollected Kaiba's shocked and furious expression after being kissed. Ryuuji's audacity didn't fail to enrage him as well, days later. His only hope was to stay with a crowd, and maybe move in with someone to be safe. Nothing could happen if there were witnesses, right?

    Ryuuji shook himself angrily. _You're being a baka. Kaiba wouldn't come after you. He's got more important things to do. You're being irrational, you know that? You have absolutely nothing to fear._

    Ryuuji agreed with this, it made perfect sense. If Kaiba wanted to knock the stuffing out of him, well, he'd put up a damn good fight. He'd go down no other way. A blaze of glory…that was it, even if there was nobody around to witness his valiant struggle. 

    But of course, he wouldn't have to fight. What was he thinking? Seto wasn't going to let himself go all juvenile about a worthless peck and run for an equally immature repossession of a stuffed animal. The Kaibas were supposed to be mature for their ages—Seto would get over it. Surely he wouldn't do anything?

    Surely?

    Ryuuji looked at his watch for a distraction and stifled a yelp. First hour was in twenty minutes and he didn't have his books. Momentarily forgetting his caution and plan of avoidance, Ryuuji ran. He shoved faceless fellow pedestrians out of the way in his sprint to beat the bell. With a tremendous bang, he slammed open the door to the main hall and slowed down at a sensei's warning glance.

    "Kami-sama, my first class is across the damn building," he complained loudly as his locker combination refused to be correct, "Someone really hates me, don't they?"

    Overlooking the fact he was reduced to talking to himself, Ryuuji strived to get the door open. After three rushed and failed attempts—which left him in a mood to scream bloody murder to anyone around listening—Ryuuji pulled the lock open. Editing the proper triumphant cheer, he piled every immediately needed textbook into his bag. He closed the locker with a bang and, since running wasn't permitted in the halls, power-walked vigorously to his first hour.

    Ryuuji collapsed into his desk with an accomplished sigh. It was then he noticed how few students occupied the classroom with him. He looked at the clock in the front of the room and balked.

    "Wow, Otogi-kun, I've never seen you in first period so soon," Yuugi awed, entering, "You're usually the last one through the door."

    It was then Ryuuji's mind choose to remind him his watch was a flooring ten minutes fast.

_    How the Hell? Ten minutes?_ He admonished himself angrily, looking down at the traitorous watch. Of course, it was broken and he needed to reset it. Being perfectly lazy and all right with subtracting ten minutes when he wanted to know the time, Ryuuji had failed to invest in a new one. In his worrisome psyche earlier, he had forgotten all about it.

    "Otogi-kun, why are you so upset. Is something bothering you?" Honda asked.

    "It's nothing."

~!~!~

    "You hungry?"

    "No."

    "You sick?"

    "No."

    "Your girlfriend left you?"

    "No—and why would that be your business anyways?"

    Jounouchi turned smartly to Anzu. "He says his girlfriend left him."

    Ryuuji glared at the blonde and smacked him upside the head. "I did not say that! Don't listen to him Anzu-chan."

    "Hey, no violence!" Anzu admonished instead of supporting him. "It's not _our_ fault."

    Ryuuji growled and glared at Jounouchi. "Look what you started! Bakatare!"

    "Well then, are you tired?"

    "No."

    "Caffeine withdraw?"

    "I just said no."

    "Bad hair day?"

    "Never."

    Jounouchi smirked, "Then what's wrong with you?"

    Ryuuji sighed and gave Jounouchi another glare before answering.

    "I'm preoccupied, all right? Just don't worry about it."

    Jounouchi nodded at this quietly while Ryuuji's eyes scanned the mess hall. He had been skipping through classes hardly paying attention all day. Yuugi-tachi had thrown in several observations over about how "weird" he was behaving. Ryuuji couldn't possibly tell them he was questioning how long he had to live or remain conscious before Kaiba Seto either killed him or put him in a very long coma. Of all the stupid things he'd ever done, of all the mindless, idiotic acts on his record….

    Speaking of the devil, Ryuuji's glaze finally found itself unwittingly traveling over Seto himself. He cringed and stopped there, for not only had he looked at the millionaire, he had also made eye contact. Why was Seto watching him? Was he planning all the various means of torture he could force upon the idiot dice player? Ryuuji had to ask himself the relentless, age-old question: _Did Kaiba Seto, being the most successful businessman in Domino City, have connections to the mafia?_

    Okay, maybe it wasn't age-old. Hell, maybe Ryuuji was the only person who had considered it? There was still the next question: _Well, is he connected or not? Don't change the subject!_

    "Yep, look at his distant expression. He's lost a girl for sure."

    Ryuuji snapped back to his table and looked in horror at Yuugi. Even the Motou had forsaken him!

    "I did _not_ break up with my girlfriend!"

    "Yeah, that's what _I've_ been saying." Honda supported, "I agree, they've got it all wrong." Honda looked at him sympathetically and gave an encouraging pat on the back, "I mean, it's gotta be tough, by yourself and all. I mean, we all have our dry spells…."

    Ryuuji shoved Honda back into his seat, scowling, "It's not that I don't _have_ a girlfriend either! You're all wrong. Can't you see it _isn't_ a relationship problem?"

    Yuugi-tachi blinked at him clueless.

    "Then what is it? You hungry?"

    "I said no."

    "You tired?"

    "Urusai!"

    Ryuuji grabbed Honda's apple at threw it at Jounouchi before storming off, not bothering to see if the fruit made contact or the blonde ducked. He stood in the quite hall, glaring at the lunchroom door. Ryuuji was angry with himself and Kaiba. He wasn't happy with how much the tension of not knowing what Seto would do to him affected his usually flamboyant mood. If it kept up he was going to find himself booking a train ticket to Tokyo to disappear in the city. He wondered why he was even in Domino. The Black Clown was gone, he had sent his father to a mental institution on Kyushu, D-D-D was doing well… What did Domino hold for him? He could have immigrated to California a long time ago. He could have moved to New York City and managed his dice game from there. His English wasn't too abominable. {B}

    Ryuuji found himself at his locker in deep thought, pondering over the perks of his game's success. He opened it mechanically and started swapping out books for the next half of the day.

    "Otogi-kun?"

    Ryuuji turned around to see Ryou looking back at him nervously.

    "Hai, little Bakura-kun?"

    Ryou, through a surprising display of will power, cleared his throat and continued. "Ano… you aren't angry at everyone, are you?"

    "What do you think?" Ryuuji said calmly, though slamming his locker door shut didn't help. Ryou, definitely not the bravest of Yuugi-tachi, winced.

    "They weren't being serious, you know."

    "I know. It's not a problem, really."

    "Heh, hai…." Ryou agreed, not sure he believed that. Ryuuji expected him to turn and go or something after stating the obvious. This wasn't so.

    "Was there anything else, Bakura-kun?"

    "As a matter of fact…" Ryou trailed before quickly shaking his head and backing to leave, "Ano… on second thought, never mind. Betsuni."

    Ryuuji arched his brows in curiosity as Ryou made some kind of absurdly deformed apologetic bow and hurried off. Was it just him, or was the white haired boy acting a bit, well, strange? Ryou was naturally a very odd person, but the recent behavior was unusual, even for him. Ryuuji knew the boy had wanted to ask him something. He had no idea what though.

    It was his lucky day all right. For all Ryuuji knew, the planets had aligned and Earth was just hours away from some cosmic destruction. Seto wanted to kill him; Yuugi-tachi had the maturity issues of a junior high; and Ryou was acting weirder than usual. There was also a stuffed kuriboh taking space in his living room right in front of the television. What happened? What had gone so terribly wrong in the way of things that threw him off track to the extreme? What had Ryuuji done to deserve it?

_    Shut up, Ryuuji. You're going to have a great, Kaiba-free day. Why are you still worrying about that? You own a company too, he can't just knock you off like a nobody…. And don't you dare whine about a mafia. You're an idiot._

    Ryuuji was trying very hard to convince himself likewise. It was almost funny (if he'd been in the position to laugh at it all) that he was so petrified. Seto had that kind of air about him, the ever frightening "cross me and pay" expression. Ryuji frowned. He was perfectly terrified of someone he hardly knew. It was pathetic. He had no right to be.

    Ryuuji shook his head with another wave of resolution. He wasn't being rational. He had to get to his next period before the bell rang. He'd lost time thinking.

    Once again, Ryuuji attempted to shove his doubts to the back of his mind as he walked to class. He didn't like that they refused to cooperate.

~!~!~

    Ryuuji grimaced at how low he'd gone. He'd skirted from the last class of the day, calculus, on the explanation that it was one he shared with Kaiba Seto. He didn't choose to care about the missing study work; things weren't looking up in that class anyways. Five student tutors had all ready given up on him and his calculus and physics were falling down hand in hand. Ryuuji had no intention of salvaging any of it. He didn't need to. He was a demigod and he'd live off his dice game.

    That _was_ the plan, sadly enough.

    Ryuuji still wasn't happy about what he'd ended up doing, failing grade aside. He would have run back, except showing up to class an hour late was probably worst than not going at all. People would wonder why he was so tardy. Ryuuji knew if left to their own imaginations, there was no limit to what his fellow students could come up with on terms of excuses. He was guilty of doing likewise on several occasions. {C}

    So, instead of finding out which one fell at a faster speed, a feather or a bowling ball, Ryuuji flopped on the couch for some equally enlightening late afternoon television.

    Ryuuji groaned at the plethora of nothing on. He had channels and channels…of nothing. No interesting marathons concluding their run… not even a soap opera worth his interest.

    "No wonder people go to school. It's not like they have anything better to do, eh Kuriboh-chan?"

    The stuffed little monster did nothing.

    Ryuuji sighed, wondering why he'd bailed on last hour. Certainly with a discipline like functions of variables distracting him Seto couldn't do anything? Ryuuji was sure after sixty-five minutes of the class and in desperate need of escape, he'd be begging Seto to just kill him anyway and get it over with. Against all reason, math problems failed to help his mental abilities in the slightest. Ryuuji was cool with geometry and all—that had been easy—and he was on great terms with arithmetic and finding discounts (which was mainly do to the fact he used them almost everyday). He just didn't see himself studying rates of change in chemical reactions and (though vaguely interesting, actually) the time it took something to decay with a certain breed of bacteria. {D}

    Yes, Ryuuji had no doubt he would have pleaded with Seto to at least knock him out before his brain exploded.

    "Argh, there's nothing to do!" Ryuuji exclaimed to his only audience, the kuriboh. He reached over and grabbed it, wondering what was so important about the thing that he had actually kissed a guy.

    "You've completely ruined my life, you know."

    The kuriboh said nothing.

    "I don't like you."

    The kuriboh didn't have anything to say to this also. It stared right back at him, unblinking. Ryuuji closed his eyes and shook himself irately.

    "Gah, why am I even talking to a stuffed animal?"

    Silence.

    Ryuuji looked at the clock on the wall and mentally cheered. School had been out for the past fifteen minutes. All he had to do was change out of his uniform and hurry outside to catch up with Yuugi-tachi. He happily dropped the kuriboh back on the floor and went to fix his hair.

    It didn't take long at all for Ryuuji to don his traditional out of school apparel. Looking in the mirror, he wondered if Yuugi-tachi had been right to some extent. Maybe he did need a girlfriend or something. Finding a willing girl wouldn't be hard. Picking one would, though. He wasn't overly fond of the obnoxious fangirl-ish types that stalked him up and down the halls between classes. Today he had still seen plenty. They would always exist, those females, even if the world were threatening to blow up in a few hours. But then, didn't the planets align or something like that? He could have sworn they had been less exasperating recently. Ryuuji smirked at the idea. The fan clubs were starting to grow on him, he was getting very accustom to the constant, aggravating presence. He hoped it was a good thing.

    "I'm off, Kuriboh-chan," Ryuuji announced, not sure why. He scowled at himself when he saw the stuffed animal laying face down on the floor.

    "All right, I'll put you back on the couch!" Ryuuji said in exasperation as he crossed the room again. He picked the kuriboh up and was about to set him down in a more favorable position when there was knock at the door. Ryuuji was surprised at this, hopping it was Yuugi-tachi and not a fangirl. He had already been forced to relocate twice.

    "Matte yo!" he called, hurrying to the door. Reaching for the lock, he realized he had forgotten to put the kuriboh on the couch. He shrugged. If he needed a weapon he was armed.

    "Ha—" Ryuuji halted on the spot. He looked at his guest and slammed the door. Unfortunately for him, Kaiba Seto had placed his foot in the way.

    "That isn't how you greet all your guests, is it?" Seto asked, walking in. Ryuuji, in his final moments feeling a sudden courageousness, grinned right back.

    "If you're coming in, please, take your shoes off. I don't like people to be so rude."

    "Oh, and slamming a door in my face isn't rude enough?"

    Ryuuji gave the millionaire a disappointed glance and retreated to the couch to put the kuriboh down. He though better of it though, certain he would need the protection for his last stand.

    "What do you want, Kaiba-san?" He asked, surprisingly calm in the face of defeat.

    "I think you know. I've been trying to find you for three days."

    Ryuuji winced guilty. He had been avoiding his apartment for a while, staying as inconspicuous as possible. His current predicament clearly justified this.

    "I came to return something."

    Ryuuji looked at him, clueless. He hadn't left anything in the park, had he? Maybe Seto wanted to return a couple punches for what Ryuuji had put him through?

    "Listen," he said, not willing to just accept the ramifications of his earlier actions, "Either give me what you came over to give me or get out. I'm really in a hurry—OI!"

    Kaiba grabbed Otogi and pinned him to the wall threateningly. Ryuuji instantly shoved him off with the kuriboh before any blows struck him. He looked at Kaiba, a bit ruffled and annoyed at the millionaire's behavior.

    "Stop being so immature, I was joking, all right? You don't have to beat me up for stealing a stupid little kiss. I know girls who'd apparently take that a lot better than you. Heh, they'd be quite glad for it." Ryuuji defended, holding the kuriboh defensively between him and the uninvited guest. Seto glared at him before suddenly smirking. Ryuuji hoped it wasn't to be patronizing. He remembered faintly his past question of mob connections.

    "What's got you so happy? Wh—umph…."

    Ryuuji had a vivid flashback of days before when he'd done the exact same thing to Kaiba. It took him a few short seconds to realize he was the one being kissed. It took even longer for him to figure out how to counter (he had slower reaction time than Seto). Before anything smart like attack with the kuriboh or head butt the millionaire came to mind, Kaiba had already pulled away with a few assured laps of the tongue. Ryuuji stared at him; his expression of shock unchanged from the moment Kaiba's lips had met his.

    Silence.

    Then….

    "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU PERVERT!" Ryuuji hit Kaiba over the head violently with the kuriboh each word, stressing his message and making sure Kaiba got it, "I'M DEFENSLESS AND YOU'RE BIGGER THAN ME! THAT IS SO NOT FAIR. MY KISS WAS A PECK! A PECK, SHIMATTA! DID I LICK YOU? NOOOO! GET YOURSELF A—are you even listening?"

    Ryuuji stopped when he realized Kaiba was still smirking at him. He got a strange feeling from Seto's expression and was in too much shock to think. He hadn't expected Seto to be so…well, whatever he was being.

    Different? Yes. Where did that stoic wall run off?

    Well, he was pretty composed—even if he was being attacked with a kuriboh.

    A new idea suddenly hit Ryuuji.

    "Oh Kami-sama, you're not gay, are you? ARE YOU?"

    "Don't be stupid, Otogi-san." Kaiba sneered. Ryuuji wondered frantically if that was a yes or a no. It was really quite vague. "I'm done here."

    Ryuuji watched angrily as Seto turned to leave. Who the hell did the baka think he was? He felt like he should do something, bash him over the head a few more times to knock some sense in. Instead, Ryuuji ended up doing nothing but listening to the door shut and Seto's footsteps walking away. Finally he was able to move, and ran out the door after him. He watched Seto walk casually down the stairs and followed.

    "I don't want you coming here!" he snapped angrily, giving Kaiba a strong push out the door to the lobby. Seto, not being above the laws of gravity and caught off guard, fell. He looked furiously back at Ryuuji.

    "You immature little—"

    "Don't you come into my apartment ever again or I will call the police."

    "That's not very charming of you."

    "Maybe it isn't supposed to be?"

    Seto glared as he stood up. Ryuuji held his ground and did likewise. There was complete silence. Ryuuji faintly noted the landlady walk in and stop, wanting to see just what was going on. Both boys were still and furiously staring. They were waiting for a blink, a twitch, any sign of lesser resolve. Ryuuji felt his eyes becoming hopelessly dry while Seto remained as impassive as always. He finally caved and blinked, permitting Kaiba to leap forward and attack.

    Ryuuji lifted the kuriboh to defend himself. He yelped as Kaiba found it necessary to kiss him again. Wide eyed (so rude) he took the situation much better than before and pushed the millionaire off. He blushed at the small crowd watching and smacked Kaiba across the face once more with the kuriboh.

    "HENTAI FREAK!" He said, aghast, "LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M STRAIGHT, DAMMIT!"

    Seto gave him another annoying smirk. Ryuuji growled. The Kaiba had stolen his cocky little half grin and was using it against him. It was so unfair. He looked at the small audience assembled and grinned nervously while Seto remained unaffected by both his actions and their eyes. Ryuuji ignored him, trying to come up with an excuse.

    "Erm, gomen everyone." He apologized, looking over the faces, some shocked, and others eerily rapt in attention. "This is my friend, uh, Nakamura Akira. Looks just like Kaiba Seto, doesn't he? Yeah, he's a double and, erm he was fired earlier today. He's trying to make a scene in insult the _real_ Kaiba Seto, but that's bullshit. He's got some, er, issues…."

    Kaiba raised his eyebrow at this far out story, wondering just what Ryuuji was doing. Instead of jumping to correct him, though, he waited to see how horribly it turned out.

    "Anyway, we're just leaving. Sayonara!" Ryuuji grabbed Kaiba's arm and pulled him out the door. A few blocks away, Seto finally spoke.

    "What was that little number, Otogi-san?"

    "_That_ was me saving my ass, not yours, Kaiba-san. The landlady's homophobic. You could've gotten me evicted."

    "That would have been a problem?"

    Ryuuji sighed. No, actually, it wouldn't have, but he didn't feel like leaving three weeks after he moved in. He frowned at the question and changed the subject instead.

    "What do you really think you're doing, Kaiba Seto, walking into my apartment like that with no shame and molesting me while the door was wide open?"

    "Molest is too strong a word, fool." Kaiba corrected. Ryuuji shook his head.

    "You're avoiding the question."

    Silence seemed to enjoy falling between the two. Seto didn't answer and started walking again. Ryuuji groaned and gave up.

    "All right then, I don't want to know. But I was serious about the police thing. I don't want you near my place."

    "Scared I'll steal that kuriboh?"

    "No."

    "Then give me it, if you don't mind."

    Ryuuji was taken aback by the request. "I think you're perfectly capable of buying yourself one."

    "So you _are_ scared I'll take the kuriboh?"

    Ryuuji sighed at this and stubbornly decided he didn't have to answer that. What did Kaiba care for some novelty plush toy? He had more important things to worry about in life. 

    Kaiba wasn't the only one who could avoid a question, but he could still be extremely difficult when he wanted.

    "But then, you must be completely terrified of me. You skipped calculus."

    Frankly, Ryuuji was shocked Kaiba had noticed. He looked at the millionaire nervously for a moment before answering.

    "No, I'm not." He half lied, "You're just very, very intimidating."

    Seto stopped and looked at him. "My reputation precedes me."

    "Yeah," Ryuuji stated quickly, wishing Seto would stop staring at him, "For all I know, you're connected with the mafia or something."

    Seto shook his head at Ryuuji's statement. He looked a bit amused. "Who says I'm not?"

    Ryuuji paled slightly, but continued down the sidewalk, completely lost on where they were headed. He vainly hoped that was Kaiba's terrible idea of a joke.

    "You know, you're oddly composed for talking to someone you hardly know. Not to mention who has 'molested' you twice."

    "Don't worry, I'm repressing the memory."

    "Charming." Seto sneered.

    "Full of it." Ryuuji said lightheartedly, but walking faster to make a distance. He was pretending he wasn't getting nervous in the presence of someone as insane as Kaiba Seto but it wasn't working.

     "What I'd like to know, though," Seto suddenly started, grabbing Ryuuji by the shoulders and pulling him back, "Is how good are you at repressing memories."

    Ryuuji, noticing how close they suddenly were, jumped back with a yelp. He glared at Kaiba furiously, holding the kuriboh up.

    "Will you stop that already?"

    Kaiba shrugged. "You could have left three blocks ago." He said in what would have been a smart remark had he not delivered it so emotionlessly. "You didn't even have to follow me out of your apartment door."

    Ryuuji continued to glare and took a step back.

    "The farther you go with me, the harder and more awkward things become. You might want to run home right about now." Seto warned with a slight smirk, his eyes on Ryuuji's. The black-haired teen blanched under the glaze and agreed. It made perfect sense. He stepped back a few more feet before turning around and running. He was embarrassed about his defeat, but his pride was on a fifteen-minute vacation as he hurried back to his apartment. 

    "Ryuuji, who was that Nakamura-san here earlier?" the landlady asked as soon as he opened the door. He was too busy panting to reply, so she continued, "I'm mean, your not…. You two aren't…?"

    "Iya!" Ryuuji said, horrified, "Acquaintances, really. You weren't the only one disturbed by that outburst."

    The woman nodded. Ryuuji was being completely honest on that much. She felt sorry for him, having to suffer such a thing as a kiss from another man. Imagining such a thing was terrible, and right in the lobby of her building!

    "I hope you're okay."

    "Fine, I'm, er, repressing the memory."

    Much to Ryuuji's luck, she took the over-used answer; though he was certain she failed to look him in the eye intentionally. He wasn't in the mood to worry about it though, as he shot up the stairs, panting once more when he was finally safe inside the door to his apartment. Wearily he looked down at the kuriboh still clenched tightly in his hand. He threw it at the television and stormed to his room. He was _not_ having a good day.

_    I thought I told myself today was going to be Kaiba-free?_

    Ryuuji frowned at his reflection. If he were an immature child of seven he'd have convinced himself optimistically that it was opposite day. What ever he said was decreed to go vice versa. And of course, not only were his thoughts to suffer, so were others' sexual orientation. Maybe he had aced his physics test earlier? The opposite of his usual grade would have been well over one hundred percent.

    That thinking was a bit too optimistic.

    Ryuuji felt a nagging in the back of his mind and dragged himself back to the television room. He picked up the kuriboh lying tragically under the coffee table and set him on the couch.

    "There, happy?"

    The stuffed animal said nothing.

    "You're welcome," Ryuuji muttered and rolled his eyes.

~!~!~

{A} Gomen, I didn't spend a whole lot of time coming up with any riveting chapter titles. The festival started Thursday, the kiss scenario was on a Friday, and this chapter is Monday. In my book it's three days since chapter one. *solemn nod that you all know is really just her falling asleep…again*

{B} What? *looks around nervously* I had to do _something_ to his dad. He seems the mental institution type, doesn't he—along with over half the cast?

{C} They call it first hour and yet, it's really more like two. *frown* I hate that.

{D} I'm not sure Ryuuji would have my calculus homework, but then, I haven't stated what grade I've put him in, have I? If I did though, we'll just chalk it up as the author griping over homework (hers through Otogi-kun) and ignore the inconsistency.

*looks at landlady and other audience* And so starts Ryuuji's slut reputation….

*smirky, smirku, smirk, smirk* Heh, well, I assumed that's the gist of it. Everyone, the second chapter! *dodges veggies* Gomen, I noticed it was a bit short too, but it wasn't getting longer. *floored by heads of lettuce* 

Owe…. *crawls away to work on other Ryuuji fics for now*

~Ling no Yong~


	3. Out of the Mouth of a Baka

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. This may be a good thing, as the only characters I can draw are Otogi Ryuuji, Yami no Yuugi, Kaiba Seto, and…er…corrupt Mokuba? Now who (besides myself) wants to watch a manga about those four only?

Again, besides myself because I really have no objections *cheers for Otogi who needs to change clothes at least once this decade—not that she's complaining*

**Notes:** Okay, this is starting to look real cliché, but tutoring is not my main focus. Why? Because five student tutors and a C+ later, I'm still clueless on how exactly students are supposed to teach students. Ergo, I leave the door open for less lifeless spectacles to be in yous peoples' minds.

**Thanks:** Thank you Windswift for beta reading! *hugs beta and squeals* Now for my comments:

Sachi-chan: Of course I listen! *grin* Poor Kaiba, he's completely screwed. Otogi too. But we love them anyways! 

dragonlady1220 (AKA Liz16): I prefer to think Kaiba's mentality allows him to achieve things by force with minimal guilt. He's been homicidal in the past, so I don't consider him the nicest guy in the universe.

dead insomniac: Thank you! I've updated!

Windswift: Eh, I don't put much effort into reports so don't worry about it. It's just a real flashy display of my vocabulary and ability to put people to sleep at will. *cackles madly* They might have some major yakuza activity in Domino... you never know…. *grin* But, yes, Kuriboh-chan ought to be respected! *solemn nod* Hai!

MarmaladeGirl: I don't like thinking either (and that statement proves I've actually attempt to think.... O.o? *scaring myself*). I'm so glad I've got ya hooked! Thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Renee the Rabid Squirrel: Thank you! *cheer, cheer*  Yep, what's a romance fic without some smooching? *grin* Unfortunately, this chapter has no physical contact…. Next chapter, though, is another side of things.

LazyLiza: I'm so glad you love this pairing. I judge Seto*Ryuuji the best pair with the least reviews. There needs to be some kind of movement to support them. They're really quite kawaii, even when at each other's throats.

Ice Puppet: I actually do have this great square looking thing with Seto/YnBakura/Ryuuji/Ryou in my plot folder that I'm planning to work on when get around to wrapping some of my current fics up. I've always wanted to try an odd pairing….

~!~!~

Chapter 3: Out of the Mouth of a Baka {A}

"Humans have a desire to be touched, which it why they enjoy massages and intimate contact. We all want to be comforted. It relieves stress. For your assignment, I want you all to write about a time you were comforted. Was it your mother when you were younger rocking you to sleep? Maybe it was a boyfriend or a girlfriend? In fact, you can write about a handshake you trusted—just as long as you are able to make it over three hundred words."

The bell rang then and the class as one gave a sigh of relief.

"You are dismissed."

Ryuuji was first out the door as always, desperate to get away at whatever costs. His favorite time of the day was approaching: lunch. Unfortunately, Seto wasn't the only one to notice his absence the other day.

"Otogi-kun, why weren't you in math yesterday? Were you being tutored again?"

"Er…."

Jounouchi grinned smartly, "Yeah, and he got a new girlfriend too. He's seduced every one of his female tutors. How many girls have signed up for that because of you, Otogi-kun, hm? You're a loveable idiot."

Ryuuji frowned, "Funny, I was going to say the same about you Jounouchi-kun—the idiot part, that is."

"I'm ignoring that."

Yuugi looked nervously between them and decided it was best to change the subject.

"Hey, look! Ume!" {B}

All of them looked at the jar left behind unwittingly on the lunch counter.

"How many can you guys eat?" He asked Honda and Jounouchi.

"Easy: All of 'em."

"Not before me!" Honda cheered, grabbing the jar. Ryuuji looked at Yuugi and shook his head.

"You know you're enticing a riot, right?"

"I didn't tell them to eat any." Yuugi replied, "But at least their occupied."

"Why?"

"I wanna know where you were yesterday."

Ryuuji grimaced. He should have expected so when he got back to school.

"At home watching TV." He said truthfully.

"Did you see Ryou at all?"

"No, why?" Ryuuji was curious. Had Ryou skipped class? Well, that certainly didn't look awkward….

"He must've been at Kaiba's then. We couldn't find him at all yesterday_ after_ school."

Ryuuji nodded, agreeing that Ryou was probably hanging around with Mokuba, causing mayhem and destruction. Those two seemed to get along unusually well for the age and personality difference.

"Did you see Kaiba yesterday?"

Ryuuji, to his embarrassment, jumped at this and eyed Yuugi suspiciously. Was there any possible way the Motou knew? No, of course not! He was simply asking that to see if Seto had maybe been with Ryou and Mokuba by a careless assumption.

And why was he, Otogi Ryuuji, suave and collected through nearly everything excluding mechanical monkeys, thanking like that in the first place? How could Yuugi possibly know about what a complete villain Kaiba Seto was? The millionaire was messed up beyond anything worth salvaging. Who wanted to save Kaiba? He didn't have many friends by his own accord and was the perfect jerk to his fangirls (Ryuuji couldn't understand why they hung around when Kaiba hardly seemed interested). Someone like Kaiba you'd think would invest in some top-secret base under a volcano and plot to destroy the world society that had ruined his personality with a couple nuclear warheads and good aim. No one could say he didn't have the resources. Maybe the whole KaibaCorp gaming market was to disguise something else? You never knew until the attack, and then it was too late.

And why he even _considering_ all that? {C}

"No, I didn't see Kaiba-kun at all yesterday, Yuugi," he lied.

"Will you not skip class today, then? Anzu's dragging everyone to the department store downtown and if you and Jounouchi go she might think twice and skip to the arcade."

Ryuuji was surprised, "Yuugi, you're not a innocent and naïve as you look."

"Jounouchi thought of it." Yuugi said quickly.

"Oh, joy."

"Will you go? I _reaaaally_ don't like shopping for clothes and accessories."

Ryuuji looked at Yuugi and notice for the first time his belts and jewelry didn't change often. He probably wasn't big on buying a lot then. That made sense.

"All right, I'll be in class."

"Yoshi!" Yuugi cheered and grinned before there was a crash from the corner. Jounouchi and Honda had just broken the jar of pickled plums.

"If anyone asks, we don't know them."

Yuugi sweat-dropped nervously, "Kami-sama, they're fighting over _ume_."

"I know."

~!~!~

"Every one of you did quite well on this test. I only had one student score lower than the passing grade. Aside of that, all of you have greatly improved since the beginning of the semester. I do hope everyone with lower grades will try harder next time, and those with A's or high B's, congratulations. You're classmate Kaiba Seto is the first person I've taught to score a perfect hundred plus—even the bonus. Though I don't expect you all to run off making perfect grades, I encourage that you at least _try_ to pass."

The sensei looked directly at Ryuuji as he delivered the last sentence. This criticism was wasted, as Ryuuji was too busy fascinating over the lines in his desk to pay attention to anything the sensei was saying. He wasn't intentionally ignoring the speech, though; he was just momentarily distracted. Listening would have put him to sleep and that would have been a terrible humiliation. Therefore, why listen? He was sure he'd understand the work when the sensei showed it to him—over-looking the fact his grades proved otherwise, of course.

"Otogi Ryuuji, meet me in the hall for a minute."

Ryuuji sat up at his name and looked around the room. Everyone was working silently on ditto sheets and he had nothing. The sensei was waiting impatiently at the door.

"Otogi-san."

Ryuuji rose from his chair and made for the door.

"Bring your books."

Confused more than grateful to go, Ryuuji did as he was told, every eye in the room suddenly on him. He was positive they were all going to listen to the door as he left. Maybe the sensei would go to his office instead and he wouldn't have to suffer?

"Otogi-san, I assume you know how your grades are standing?"

"They're nowhere near standing."

"Don't be funny."

Ryuuji nodded and entered the sensei's office. He wasn't confused about anything. It was perfectly clear what the teacher was telling him about—had been telling him about since the start of the semester. Back then there had been optimistic encouragement to try harder, the grading period had only begun, and he could clear all of this before the scores were added up. Now it was a vain plea if he would please even consider trying at all. Ryuuji was used to it. He'd rather spend his time working on his dice game instead of studying. There were a multitude of modifications to make everything more challenging. Ryuuji was even looking into a personal publicist with the game's current success in the United States. What was school to someone that busy? He wasn't supposed to have time—they shouldn't expect him to. Not every self-dependant teenager running a company was as intelligent as the god Kaiba Seto. Not many people realized that along with being a busy game inventor, Ryuuji also managed a growing chain of Black Clown game shops. He'd go crazy if he added schoolwork to everything else. {D}

"If you perform badly now, Otogi-san, it is going to reflect on situations farther down the road."

"Yeah…." Ryuuji was half listening, his mind elsewhere. How would D-D-D play with lager fields? Smaller?

"Otogi-san, I'd appreciate it if you gave me your full attention."

Ryuuji looked at the sensei unenthusiastically.

"In college, your teachers are not going to pull you aside and tell you you're failing, understand? You have to prepare for the future. This is not elementary school; understand that. Some colleges use your high school grades as a reflection of how you're going to perform at their school. At your current progression, I highly doubt you'd have many choices for higher education."

Ryuuji gave a faint, wry smile at this. "Who says I'm going to college?"

The sensei didn't take the lack of concern lightly. "If you plan on running a company, you might want to look into it."

Ryuuji winced at this attack. He still couldn't see why the man across the desk took this all so seriously. Weren't Ryuuji's grades Ryuuji's issue? He didn't need to be reminded of them every day.

"And how's calculus going to help, Sempai?"

The man sighed at Ryuuji. "Don't be stupid, Otogi-san. Though you do need calculus, that's not all I'm referring to here. I've seen your grades and your best is a B in Physical Education."

"What are you going to do about it?" Ryuuji asked, humoring the man's devotion to his grades.

"Well, Domino High prides itself in helping with our students' futures…"

The sensei didn't need to go any further.

"You mean you're giving me another tutor? Did I ask for one?"

"No."

There was a momentary silence as Ryuuji considered whether he agreed with this or not. Slowly he reached the conclusion he just didn't care. The school could to whatever the hell it wanted; they weren't going to change anything.

"Is she hot?"

The sensei frowned over his printout of Ryuuji's report card—a collection of grades only assembled through a lackadaisical attitude and indifference towards any and all subjects. It was not a piece of work to be proud of. Ryuuji wasn't by all means happy with the marks, but they were unavoidable. He simply couldn't waste time concentrating on all of that.

"What's her name?" Ryuuji asked, leaning back casually in his chair. The teacher gave him a frighteningly insinuative smirk.

"It's not a she, it's a he—a certain Kaiba Seto. I assume you know him?"

There was a crash as Ryuuji teetered backwards and collapsed.

~!~!~

It was a very rare occurrence that Yuugi-tachi was distracted from the games in the arcade. Ryuuji bombshell was able to make one of those rare occurrences.

"KAIBA? Kaiba _Seto_?"

"Yes, Jounouchi-kun. Want me to repeat it six times, or has it gotten through at five?"

Jounouchi stared at Ryuuji, completely aghast. Yuugi grinned nervously and tried to be optimistic.

"Well, look on the positive side, Jounouchi-kun. I don't think he'll be able to seduce _that_ tutor."

Everyone laughed at this comment except for the person it was framed around. Ryuuji glared at the suggestion and shook his head. In a time of crisis why did Yuugi abandon him as well? Was it that terrible a fate? Was he that pathetic even the Motou couldn't stand for him?

"You knew you had it coming all along, though," Anzu admonished sensibly, "I mean, with your grades being what they are…."

"You mean aren't."

"Honda-kun!"

The brunette grinned mischievously and gave Jounouchi a high five, as the blonde had suddenly recovered his former shock and found Ryuuji situation a riot. Since he lacked awesome green laser beam glare action, Ryuuji scowled and watched in horror as he was completely deserted of his friends' empathy.

"But still, guys, Kaiba-kun? That isn't fair."

Ryuuji looked hopefully at Ryou, feeling the insane desire to latch on to him and proclaim his thanks and happiness that at least one person agreed he was better of heading for the gallows than being tutored by Seto. Good Ryou, optimistic Ryou, the boy with more compassion than common sense! He'd go into server denial to help a guy out, a real pal no matter what.

"Yeah, that's Otogi-kun's problem," Jounouchi said, turning to Ryuuji, "So, er, good luck with that."

Ryuuji frowned, "You could be less sympathetic."

"Yeah, I could."

Ryuuji had trouble holding back the need to strangle the amazingly recovered teen and curse him with vulgarities he had never uttered before. Who did Jounouchi think he was, telling Ryuuji he just had to get over it? Had he failed to realize the enormity of the situation? Was he pulling a Nero and fiddling while Ryuuji's world burned to ashes? It was too cold. Ryuuji hadn't done anything to him.

Well, not much anyways.

"Would it kill you people to feel sorry for me?" He glared at Jounouchi and Honda, "Excluding you two, of course."

"Well, you do kind of deserve this." Anzu shrugged, "It's kind like karma. You hurt your grades and now you face the consequences."

"Thanks—no one ever told me my grades had feelings. It's all so clear now." He rolled his eyes and turn to the Motous,  "What about you, Yuugi?"

"You shouldn't have gotten those bad grades in the first place."

Ryuuji sighed and shook his head, "What do you mean? The school had no right to force this to me. It's a damn high school, for crying out loud! These are junior high tactics. I'm not going, I don't have time for it. I want to see you manage a game shop chain and dice game, Jounouchi-kun! (The blonde had just been mocking his expression) Then you smirk and call me an idiot."

"But Kaiba runs a company." Anzu offered smartly. Ryuuji shook his head furiously at her.

"No, no, no! Kaiba's got the memory banks of an android—he runs out of room, he upgrades to a new pair of lucky socks or something. He's probably a paw-paw lefty with quirky logic and a brain perfect for whatever it does. He could be in MENSA or something. I don't have that. I'm a teen of standard intelligence that doesn't try to make perfect grades. It's hard enough getting my affairs in order without worrying about calculus and damn factors."

"Do you just not like calculus, Otogi-san?" Yuugi asked, "Is that the real issue? Kaiba-kun could really help you with that. I mean they aren't forcing him to tutor you, are they?"

"No, and it's not just _calculus_ I'm panicking over. I'm not that pathetic."

"Really?"

Ryuuji decided to ignore this comment from the peanut gallery of Jounouchi and Honda. He turned to Ryou, the only definite support nearby.

"You agree this is completely unfair, right?"

Ryou look nervously at Yuugi and Anzu. Ryuuji sweat dropped in disbelief. As if he didn't feel forsaken enough already….

"Thanks for the support."

With that he turned and walked off rudely, knowing perfectly well he was leaving Ryou devastated. Of course, Yuugi-tachi would soon have the compliant boy persuaded to see their way and Ryuuji would have to dispose of his new tutor alone. He didn't like the idea of taking it all by himself, but wasn't that how he managed D-D-D?

But how did one get rid of Seto; threaten to tell the paparazzi he was gay? Or bi?

Ryuuji sighed, lost on any aspiring plans as he walked around the arcade. He let his attention fall on two people dancing, trying to outdo each other for points. Anzu could have beaten them both easily. Her aim in higher education was New York City and Broadway. Ryuuji let his mind wander off subject and fantasized how many hot girls walked into Black Clown New York. If they had figures anything like the two dancing, he'd be emigrating soon. It was definitely a beautiful show as he watched the girls step and twirl, waiting for one to mess up and lose. They were both smiling and looked like they knew each other. A small group of laughing females cheered them on further away on the ground. Ryuuji grinned as he recognized a few from school. He needed some pointless flirtation to distract himself, a sense of being wanted by the opposite sex. He could tell the girls all about the tutor issue and they'd console him with shallow anecdotes on similar situations in their own lives when authority was just too overbearing. It was a prime way to elude his current predicament.

One of the dancers, a girl in a pink shirt, cheered as the screen flashed for the entire room to see that she had won. Her friends both congratulated her and sympathized with her rival. Everyone was laughing and chatting, inadvertently calling Ryuuji towards them. He obeyed and walked over casually. The first girl to notice him cheered to alert her friends.

"Otogi-san, over here!"

Ryuuji, acting like he had only just noticed the group, walked over with an expression he knew displayed a perfect pleasantly surprised.

"Hello ladies, I didn't expect to see you all here."

"Ha, me too!" The pink shirt cheered. Ryuuji was lost on her name.

"I noticed you won."

"Really?"

"Yep, it was quite a beautiful display, I'd have to be blind not to see." (Ego: *sticks tongue out at Ryuuji* Ack! You are sooo lame, but then, so it this fic.)

The pink shirt fell for it, happily latching onto Ryuuji's side with a grin. Ryuuji looked at the party and notice one that had tried and failed to teach him calculus only a week before. This spurred his next sentence.

"I have another tutor, by the way."

All the girls frowned at this and jabbered their discord.

"She's probably some idiot. You ought to get us to help if it's really that bad."

Ryuuji shook his head, happy to find some support at last, no matter how ill founded.

"It's not a she, it's Kaiba-san."

There was a collective gasp from his audience.

"I'd love to have Kaiba-san!" One girl cheered, on her own ship. The others agreed, but realized things weren't so positive for Ryuuji.

"That isn't good for you, is it?" The pink shirt asked, "Kaiba-san isn't much for being polite to other guys." She failed to note he wasn't much for being polite to pretty girls either. "It's only natural he wouldn't like you. It's got to be terrible."

Ryuuji grinned, hearing exactly what he wanted.

"You're right, it's terrible."

Another girl grinned and clamed the pink shirts position on his arm.

"Don't worry," she cheered while the pink shirt glared, "we're here for you Otogi-kun!"

~!~!~

Ryuuji wondered if he could get away with an honorable knifing to the stomach as suicide. Maybe during lunch he could run to a shrine, abduct a priest, and end it all? It didn't seem like such a bad plan, only lunch had been over for a very long time and he was currently on his way to a vacant art classroom.

Unbidden and unwanted, graphic images of Monday flashed through his mind as he slowed his steps. Replay upon replay of Kaiba kissing him, pulling him too close for comfort…each recollected scenario leaving him more and more anxious about entering the classroom. It was amazing the sensei had even trusted him to walk without supervision. But then, where would he hide anyway? Kaiba wasn't some enthusiastic girl with strong principals—Ryuuji couldn't spend the hour hiding in the men's room. Not only was it immature, Seto could easily walk in and find him. That was that last place he wanted to be in such a situation.

And what made an empty art classroom so much better?

Ryuuji timidly turned the corner and cringed as the classroom door was in sight. He was walking too fast; he had to slow down. His feet hardly made a sound as they shuffled in slow motion down the hall. If he timed a step a minute and the door was about thirty steps away, would that be thirty minutes off the class? Unfortunately, Ryuuji didn't have his watch and couldn't synchronize himself so. All too soon he was in front of the door, praying to every god to be merciful and strike him down before he meant his doom. The summons went unanswered as he knocked.

"It's open."

Images tried once more to surface and torture his mind. New pictures of attacks and compromising positions with no referee to keep the freakishly strong Kaiba away flooded in. Ryuuji gulped and opened the door, trying to suppress everything before facing reality. His mind wanted to think about something else. How was the Domino business world going? Were there any important seminars he was forgetting about with all his schoolwork in its infinite glory of time hassling and impossibility of perfection? No, of course not. He'd never forget something like that.

Could he though?

In the attempt to overplay his explicit mental plots with business, Ryuuji had wound his mind into a tight, worrisome little ball. Oh Kami-sama, _had_ he forgotten something? Was it possible? It started to look very likely as he unconsciously entered the classroom. He hardly realized where he was till he was through the door. It was an unexpected shock when he realized it, instantly trying to locate Kaiba and therefore assume the proper defense pose.

Ryuuji felt like an idiot as Seto was sitting at the teacher's desk, glaring at the door and it's opener. He looked collected, entirely unaffected by the angst of his new student. Ryuuji had fortunately controlled himself and kept from taking on any hilarious stances to keep the _unmoving_ corporate executive away.

"You don't plan on standing there staring at me till the bell rings, do you?"

Ryuuji wildly considered this option for a few moments and Seto rolled his eyes.

"Sit down, will you?" he ordered sharply. Ryuuji sat in the table closest the door and across the room from Seto.

"You know, you sitting there makes tutoring exceedingly difficult."

Ryuuji composed himself enough to return the glare. "Do something then, _sempai_."

Seto's eyebrow went up slightly into his mess of bangs to a region in which Ryuuji could no longer see it. Without a word he carried his books to Ryuuji's table and sat across from him. His face remained expressionless.

"Now will you open your book and listen?"

Ryuuji was too distracted by his attacking thoughts to respond. Kaiba reached across the table and snatched his textbook up, causing Ryuuji to jump. He glared as Seto flipped to the proper page, feeling the teen across the table had no right to startle him like that.

"You better not do anything…funny," he warned, doubly ashamed of his phrasing. He sounded old.

Now, if he had any sense of humor on hand, Seto would have given Ryuuji a "funny ha-ha, or funny strange?" comment. But, being the emotionless robot there was no doubt he was, Kaiba simply looked at him across the table, his eyes telling Ryuuji he was vaguely curious but not to get too hopeful for a bustling little conversation. "Like what?" he asked with minimal concern.

"That stunt you pulled yesterday's a start." Ryuuji snapped, frustrated with the fact Kaiba seemed apathetic to any meetings prior the tutoring session. To his surprised, Seto grinned slightly as though remembering a particularly enjoyable evil deed of his.

"You seemed to enjoy my company yesterday," he said with a slight sneer.

Ryuuji backed his chair up a bit further as Seto placed the book back down in front of him, this time on the proper page. 

"Erm…you're not exactly my type, gomen."

Kaiba's smirk grew at this cautious apology. "And what's your type, exactly?"

"Erm, tall…blonde…_breasts_…." Ryuuji stressed the last word, implying Seto's deficiency in the area.

"Oh, well, that isn't our concern right now though, is it? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have to pass calculus if you don't want to repeat it, right? I assumed we'd be discussing that and not any extracurricular activities we're starting to regret, Otogi-san. I suggest you turn your attention to diagram one now, if you'd please…."

Ryuuji frowned and looked at the graph.

"What is this problem to you, Otogi-san?" Kaiba asked. Ryuuji shrugged.

"A curvy line?"

"Bakatare!" Kaiba sighed.

"Heh, gomen…." Ryuuji apologized slowly. Of course he knew it had something to do with how fast a seal swam in affect with the resistance of the water, but who _cared_? He didn't plan on chasing seals through varying levels of ice-encrusted ocean.

Okay, varying _temperatures_ of ocean, but cold water had ice, didn't it?

Twenty minutes later things had progressed no further.

"They were right, I'm working with an idiot."

"Ano…."

Seto frowned and point at the current question. "Okay, if _x_ is infinite, then the function…ack! Are you _yawning_?"

Ryuuji quickly closed his mouth and sat up. "Gomen. Continue."

Seto glared back and Ryuuji shrugged, point to the equation in his textbook.

"You were saying something about the function of _x_? Wasn't there a seal or a bowling ball or something?"

"Ack! That was twenty minutes ago, kisama!" (Sounds like Ego's student tutor. Heh, oops….)

Lucky for Ryuuji, the bell rang before Kaiba had a chance to kill him.

"Gomen, gotta run. Places to be, people to see. Sayonara!" With this hasty farewell, Ryuuji bolted out of the room and made a dash down the halls to his locker. He was feeling quite proud of himself, avoiding Kaiba so well and driving him insane to boot. What had Seto said about things getting awkward as you walked next to him (elementary school terminology)? Well, the further you pushed Otogi Ryuuji, the further you had to realized just how much sanity you had stored. Through sheer luck and subliminal genius, he had fended the frightening businessman off successfully.

Of course, it was easy to say he hardly had anything to fend off, as Kaiba had presented no threat whosoever. Ryuuji, though, chose to ignore this and have his moment.

"How did your tutoring go, Otogi-kun?" Yuugi asked as Ryuuji caught up with him outside of the school.

"The same as class."

"You mean you learned nothing? Wow, if Kaiba can't teach you, no one can."

Ryuuji strongly disagreed with this. If he were motivated enough anyone could teach him anything—even his worst enemy Literature. Yuugi had no right to say that.

"Okay, you're right, I've learned a super moral lesson to never drop my grades again. Oh, the agony! If only, if only!" He exaggerated, "There, you feel better about it now?"

"You're being an idiot."

"Quite a few would argue the point along with you, Yuugi-kun."

Yuugi frowned at the dark haired teen, in complete disbelieve at the fact his friend was taking things with so easily. Did reality have little affect on him?

"Otogi-kun, you've got to be sincere about all of this. None of it is good, understand?"

Ryuuji shrugged at this statement, the severity of Yuugi's tone brushing off on him. "What's the point? I just don't see why everyone expects me to be a genius. I'm anything but."

"But you're creative, and a good problem solver," Yuugi supported optimistically, "You just aren't trying your best."

"I don't see why I should. I know all this. The school district should be happy I even attend."

"Don't flatter yourself." A new voice added. Ryuuji sighed and rolled his eyes

"Huh?" He slurred, certain Kaiba couldn't do anything to him right in front of the school. Yuugi was there too, and Yami no Yuugi had perfected kicking the businessman's tail to an art form. He wouldn't dare do anything.

"You don't know anything, Otogi-kun." Seto said, happily elaborating his point on command, "You find _fundamental_ _mathematics_ a tax on your brain, not even implying the basics behind most formulas. I can give you a million metaphors on your intelligence and I still won't come close because nothing can ever represent such a _lack_."

"You couldn't come up with one."

Seto looked at him and cleared his throat, "Your mind is a leaking bucket, you take all but retain nothing."

Ryuuji looked at Seto indignantly. If he were a six years younger he would have stuck his tongue out and kicked the millionaire in the shin. He probably would have screamed and ranted as well, not so much unlike a certain inu-similar associate. It was easy to act like Jounouchi, but it was hard to take such insult to one's pride.

"You're an encyclopedia, lots of facts but no brains."

Yuugi looked helplessly at the two as Seto took a breath for his premeditated comeback, "Well you—"

"Guys, with you stop it!" Yuugi sighed, "This isn't Junior High."

"Yuugi, this is a battle of wits." Ryuuji defended. Yuugi looked at him disbelievingly.

"Ack! You two need to get over yourselves. Did you and Kaiba-kun spend two hours insulting each other?"

"No," Ryuuji answered. Seto affirmed this with a nod.

"Then why are you starting now?

Ryuuji glared at Seto. He couldn't explain, but he had to argue. He had to defend himself. Kaiba had already publicly humiliated him. People he didn't even know in the apartment complex were grinning at him in the hall in recognition. To say the least, I was exactly the kind of knowing look Ryuuji like receiving.

Hey, that's the guy who kissed that other guy a couple days ago in the lobby. Are you sure he isn't gay? I mean, just look at him. My money says he's got a boyfriend somewhere. Really, he acts like some kind of homosexual. See, he's doing the walk and that hand thing!

Ryuuji was sick and tired of the hallway commentary.

"Ryuuji, c'mon, no one's inviting you to argue with Kaiba."

"His face is."

Acting completely out of character, Yuugi jumped up and grabbed Ryuuji by the ponytail. {E}

"Owe, what are you doing?" Ryuuji asked helplessly as the Motou started pulling him away.

"We've gotta catch up with everyone else, Ryuuji, you're wasting time."

Ryuuji grimaced as he was pulled away, now publicly humiliated by the once trusted Yuugi. It was so wrong. What the hell was wrong with the world? He wasn't about to beat the smaller boy for touching his hair, it simply wasn't right.

Ryuuji looked at Yuugi powerlessly as he tried to keep up and keep his hair.

"Owe, all right, all right, I'm coming—don't pull so hard, that's my _hair_ you're ripping out. Yuugi-kun…."

~!~!~

{A}: You know, I can't really explain that chapter title. I guess because every time Ryuuji opens his mouth in the fic, he makes a perfect spectacle of himself. I wish I knew someone that entertaining….

{B}: Ume, a small pickled plum. They're small and red. You see them in bento boxes all the time, usually on top of a little mound of rice to preserve freshness. These things are wicked sour if you've ever tried them, but then, maybe I just really susceptible to that flavor? They make me pucker up like a fish; so we have wonderful contests with them.

{C}: Where's James Bond when you need him?

{D}: I decided Black Clown wasn't just a Domino thing. Lets pretend that along with "inventing" D-D-D, Ryuuji also owns a game retailing chain. All right? Yoshi! ^^

{E}: Gomen, I just had to do that. *is attacked by rabid Ryuuji* Eek!SorryIpulledyourlovelyhairout-gomen-gomen-gomen!Eek!SorryIpulledyourlovelyhairout-gomen-gomen-gomen!Eek!SorryI—AHHH *Ryuuji comes running with a wooden mallet of DOOM* AHHHHH!

Yuugi is so OOC…. *dies*

*sheepish grin* Heh, chapter three…. Not really a length improvement, is it? *points to matchbox 20* They did it to me, I swear.

~Ling no Yong~


End file.
